Rice Candy Pound Cake Recipe

Rice candy ... nothing compares to this subtly sweet, very creamy delicious chew candy. As a child, my sister and I were favored by the owner of the Hong Kong restaurant and if we were very quiet and waited very politely while Mom paid the bill, the owner would sneak us each a piece of rice candy brought back from Hong Kong during Chinese New Year.

I recently discovered Botan rice candies, which are very inexpensive and was surprisingly found in my little mountain town but I had to run across them by surprise while purchasing ingredients for sushi. Delighted to share this piece of childhood with my daughter, I grabbed a pack and raced home to surprise her.

Okay so ... all that I remembered from my childhood was that it was rice candy. With edible wrappers. Magic.

Botan was not what I was looking for. My beloved Alton saved me, gifting me a bag of gorgeously tasteful White Rabbit rice candies. I believe he got a kiss just for that! And yes, this is the creamy smooth chewy amazingness I was looking for - White Rabbit Rice Candy - and it will cost you about a buck a bag.

Right, so this isn't so much about the candies as a recipe that tastes like the candy. The kind I love. A taste of Chinese junk food deliciousness (and not nearly the kind of junk food sold in America!). What it is about is a pound cake recipe that tastes so much like these amazing chunks of taste that I had to prevent myself eating the whole thing.

Rice Candy Pound Cake Recipe

CONDENSED MILK POUND CAKE

from Pichet Ong's Sweet Spot

[my adaptations to the recipe & techniques are in brackets]



Makes one 8 1/2 -x- 4 1/2 inch cake, about 12 servings

1 cup (8 oz/226 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

1 1/3 cups (7 oz/200g) all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup (3 3/4 oz/ 106g) sugar

1 vanilla bean, chopped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup (8 oz/239g) sweetened condensed milk

3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325° F.


Generously butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 - inch loaf pan and set aside.


Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.


Put the sugar and the chopped vanilla bean, if using, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until the vanilla bean is finely ground. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve and return the sugar mixture to the food processor. If not using the vanilla bean, just put the sugar in the processor. [I buzzed the sugar and vanilla bean in my Bullet]


Add the butter and salt and process until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Add the condensed milk and pulse until well incorporated, about 15 times, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. [I used the stand mixer and the beater attachment to beat the butter, salt and ground vanilla sugar mixture until fluffy. Then I added the condensed milk and beat until combined]


Add the sifted dry ingredients and pulse until no traces of flour remain, about 10 times. Add the eggs and pulse just until combined, about 5 times. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla extract, if using, and finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the eggs. [Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat until combined. Then, add all the eggs and continue beating until thoroughly incorporated.]


Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely in the loaf pan on a rack, then unmould. [I baked my pound cake for one hour 20 minutes!]
Read more at http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/condensed-milk-love-pound-cake-and-white-rabbit-candy-fid-1349959#yKOP9FW1FPUQov1f.99

I found this recipe while looking for rice candy recipes (the genuine thing ... I think I may have to devise one of my own unless anyone has a good recipe?) and the cake was so creamy, rich, and lightweight for a pound cake that it was gone in record speed.

Originally from Pichet Ong's Sweet Spot, this recipe and techniques within have been adapted. Adaptations to the recipe and techniques are in brackets [like this]. 

Makes one 8 1/2 -x- 4 1/2 inch cake, about 12 servings 

• 1 cup (8 oz/226 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan 
• 1 1/3 cups (7 oz/200g) all purpose flour 
• 3/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 cup (3 3/4 oz/ 106g) sugar 
•  1 vanilla bean, chopped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 3/4 cup (8 oz/239g) sweetened condensed milk 
•  3 large eggs 

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Generously butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 - inch loaf pan and set aside. Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

Put the sugar and the chopped vanilla bean, if using, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until the vanilla bean is finely ground. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve and return the sugar mixture to the food processor. If not using the vanilla bean, just put the sugar in the processor. [I buzzed the sugar and vanilla bean in my Bullet].

Add the butter and salt and process until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Add the condensed milk and pulse until well incorporated, about 15 times, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. [I used the stand mixer and the beater attachment to beat the butter, salt and ground vanilla sugar mixture until fluffy. Then I added the condensed milk and beat until combined].

Add the sifted dry ingredients and pulse until no traces of flour remain, about 10 times. Add the eggs and pulse just until combined, about 5 times. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla extract, if using, and finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the eggs. [Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat until combined. Then, add all the eggs and continue beating until thoroughly incorporated.]

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely in the loaf pan on a rack, then unmold. [I baked my pound cake for one hour 20 minutes!]